N4 Grammar · Test 55

A says they want to buy a camera and asks for a recommendation. B responds with advice about where to go. 〜なら is used when responding to someone's stated intention or desire and giving advice/recommendation based on it. カメラを買うなら = 'If you're going to buy a camera (since you mentioned wanting to), then…' This is the natural pattern for giving advice in response to someone's expressed plan.

• 1買うと (conditional と) expresses a general/inevitable consequence: 'When(ever) you buy a camera, the shop near the station is cheap.' This sounds like a general truth rather than advice for a specific situation, and is unnatural for recommending a shop.
• 2買えば (conditional ば) expresses a condition-result relationship: 'If you buy a camera, the shop near the station is cheap and good.' While grammatically possible, ば is less natural than なら for giving advice based on someone's stated intention.
• 3買ったら (conditional たら) means 'if/when you buy a camera.' たら can be used for advice, but it implies the action will actually happen (when you buy). なら is more appropriate here because it responds to the speaker's intention/desire rather than assuming the purchase will definitely occur.

• 〜なら — if (used when responding to someone's stated intention/plan and giving advice); 'if it's the case that you're going to…'
• 〜と — when/if (general condition → inevitable result); not used for giving advice
• 〜ば — if (conditional focusing on the condition being met)
• 〜たら — if/when (conditional; can express discovery or advice, but assumes the action occurs)

山川 says a friend drove them to the airport. The subject of the action is 友だち (friend), and 山川 received the favor. 〜てくれる means someone does a favor for the speaker (or someone in the speaker's in-group). 友だちが…送ってくれたんです = 'My friend gave me a ride (to the airport).' The んです adds explanatory nuance, fitting the conversational context where 山川 is explaining why it wasn't so bad despite the heavy luggage.

• 1いただいたんです (humble もらう) would require the recipient (山川) as the subject: 私が…送っていただいた. But the sentence has 友だちが as the subject, so くれる is needed instead.
• 3もらったんです also means 'received the favor,' but with もらう the grammatical subject is the recipient (私が…もらう), not the giver. Since 友だちが is marked as the subject, もらう is grammatically mismatched.
• 4あげたんです means 'I did (the favor) for someone.' This would mean 山川 drove the friend, which is the opposite of the intended meaning.

• 〜てくれる — someone does a favor for the speaker (the giver is the subject)
• 〜てもらう — the speaker receives a favor (the recipient is the subject)
• 〜てあげる — the speaker does a favor for someone (the giver is the subject)
• 送おくる — to take/drop someone off (by car); to send

Option 4 (なくなりそうです) uses 〜そう (conjecture based on visual observation). A is looking at the gas gauge right now and can see the fuel is almost gone, so 'it looks like it's going to run out' fits perfectly. B's response '早く入れたほうがいいですね' (we'd better refuel quickly) confirms the urgency of an imminent event.

• 1なくなるらしいです uses らしい, which indicates hearsay or inference based on some evidence—not a direct visual observation. A is looking at the gauge, not reporting what someone else said.
• 2なくなるそうです (hearsay そう) means 'I heard it's going to run out,' reporting information from another source. A is observing the situation directly, not relaying a report.
• 3なくなるはずです expresses a logical expectation ('it should run out'), based on reasoning rather than direct visual evidence. This doesn't match the context of seeing the gauge right now.

• なくなる — to run out, to disappear
• ガソリン — gasoline
• 〜そう（様態） — looks like it's about to (based on visual observation)
• 〜らしい — seems to; I heard (inference/hearsay)
• 〜そう（伝聞） — I heard that (hearsay from others)
• 〜はず — should (logical expectation)

Option 1 (ふっているし) uses 〜し, which lists multiple reasons. The sentence structure is '雨がふっているし、お金もいないので行きません' = 'It's raining, and I also have no money, so I won't go.' The し clause presents the first reason, and お金もいない presents the second, leading to the conclusion 行きません.

• 2ふっているのに uses のに ('even though'), which expresses contrast/concession—'even though it's raining.' This contradicts the logic of listing reasons for NOT going; it would imply going despite the rain.
• 3ふっているため uses ため ('because of'), which already expresses cause. The sentence ends with ので ('because'), so stacking ため and ので creates a redundant double-causal structure that is unnatural.
• 4ふっていると uses と (conditional 'when/if'), which doesn't fit here. The sentence needs a reason connector, not a conditional.

• 〜し — and also; (listing reasons) ~and
• 〜のに — even though (contrast/concession)
• 〜ため — because of; due to
• 〜と — when/if (conditional)
• ふっている — is raining (te-iru form of ふる)

Option 4 (なくなりそうです) uses 〜そう (conjecture based on visual observation). A is looking at the gas gauge right now and can see the fuel is almost gone, so 'it looks like it's going to run out' fits perfectly. B's response '早く入れたほうがいいですね' (we'd better refuel quickly) confirms the urgency of an imminent event.

• 1なくなるらしいです uses らしい, which indicates hearsay or inference based on some evidence—not a direct visual observation. A is looking at the gauge, not reporting what someone else said.
• 2なくなるそうです (hearsay そう) means 'I heard it's going to run out,' reporting information from another source. A is observing the situation directly, not relaying a report.
• 3なくなるはずです expresses a logical expectation ('it should run out'), based on reasoning rather than direct visual evidence. This doesn't match the context of seeing the gauge right now.

• なくなる — to run out, to disappear
• ガソリン — gasoline
• 〜そう（様態） — looks like it's about to (based on visual observation)
• 〜らしい — seems to; I heard (inference/hearsay)
• 〜そう（伝聞） — I heard that (hearsay from others)
• 〜はず — should (logical expectation)

しまっています is the 〜ています form of しまう (intransitive: 'to close/be closed'). With ドアが, it describes the resulting state of the door being closed: 'The door is closed.' This is the standard intransitive 〜ている pattern for a state resulting from a change.

• 1しめます is the transitive verb しめる ('to close something') in the non-past polite form. With ドアが (intransitive subject marker), it is ungrammatical — you would need ドアをしめます ('I will close the door').
• 2しめています is the transitive しめる in 〜ています form, meaning 'is (in the process of) closing (something).' With ドアが it is ungrammatical; the correct form would be ドアをしめています. Also, it describes an action in progress, not a state.
• 4しまってあります is ungrammatical. 〜てある requires a transitive verb (他動詞) and marks the object with が. しまう is intransitive (自動詞), so しまってある is not valid. The correct 〜てある form would be しめてあります (from the transitive しめる).

• しまう — to close, to be closed (intransitive / 自動詞)
• しめる — to close something (transitive / 他動詞)
• 〜ています — (with intransitive verb) expresses a resulting state